SHADES OF DARK

Author: Linnea Sinclair ISBN: 9780553589658 8/2008 SCI-FI Publisher: BANTAM DELL

Can love alone save the day? Award-winning author Linnea Sinclair returns with a vibrant interstellar thriller of romance and adventure in which two lovers are tested in the crucible of deep space, where there are only… Before her court-martial, Captain Chasidah “Chaz” Bergren was the pride of the Sixth Fleet. Now she’s a fugitive from the “justice” of a corrupt Empire. Along with her lover, the former monk, mercenary, and telepath Gabriel Ross Sullivan, Chaz hoped to leave the past light-years behind—until the news of her brother Thad’s arrest and upcoming execution for treason. It’s a ploy by Sully’s cousin Hayden Burke to force them out of hiding, and it works. With a killer targeting human females and a renegade gen lab breeding jukor war machines, Chaz and Sully already had their hands full of treachery, betrayal—not to mention each other. Throw in Chaz’s Imperial ex-husband, Admiral Philip Guthrie, and a Kyi-Ragkiril mentor out to seduce Sully, and not just loyalties but lives are at stake. For when Sully makes a fateful choice, changing their relationship forever, Chaz must also choose—between what duty demands and what her heart tells her she must do.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

SHADES OF DARK is a romantic, science fiction roller coaster. If you like intricate plots and fascinating characters, you will love Sinclair's latest, the sequel to GABRIEL'S GHOST. SHADES OF DARK is complex even if you have read the first book, so I highly recommend reading that one first.

One of the most interesting aspects of this book is the way the hero, Gabriel Ross Sullivan, changes. He is a disinherited heir to a large, powerful family, and long ago took to the skies. In the previous book, he hooked up with Chasidah Bergren, a divorced captain. Now, after only three months together, they are trying to find their way through a relationship that has a huge problem.

Sully, despite being human, is a mutant, with enormous special powers. Mating with Chaz heightens his powers to the point of limited control. Chaz is a little afraid of him and he is increasingly afraid of himself.

Meanwhile, they are also trying to save the Empire from the outside looking in. Their allies often seem to be their enemy and vice versa as they hunt for jukor breeding locales. Jukors are terrifying manufactured species that are basically killing machines, and Sully's family is behind the bloody situation. Will Sully and Chas self-destruct before they can save innocent lives?

Sinclair has done a spectacular job of world and character building with this book.

Heather Hiestand